Tape dispenser with mounting base



July 16, 1963 E. WALTZ TAPE DISPENSER WITH MOUNTING BASE Filed Aug. 15, 1960 JNVEN TOR.

EDWARD WAL rz ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,097,775 TAPE DISPENSER WITH MOUNTING BASE Edward Waltz, Grand Rapids, Mich, assignor to E. 0. Bulman Manufacturing Company, Inc., Grand Rapids,

Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Aug. 15, 1960, Ser. No. 49,479 3 Claims. (Cl. 225-66) This invention relates in general to an apparatus for dispensing adhesive tape from a roll thereof and, more particularly, to a portable, handheld tape dispenser and a pedestal for releasably engaging and firmly holding said dispenser in a semipermanent position.

It is common practice to use a hand-held, portable device for the purpose of supporting and dispensing adhesive tape from a roll thereof when said tape is being used in packaging operations, masking operations or in other similar applications. In such case, the dispenser is advantageously designed so that it can be comfortably held by a normal adult hand for the purpose of applying the tape from a roll to an article and thereafter severing the applied portion of tape from the remainder of the roll. Such a dispenser is disclosed and claimed in my copending application Serial No. 48,746 entitled Tape Dispenser and assigned to the assignee of this application.

However, it has been found that many users of handheld tape dispensers encounter circumstances where it is either inconvenient or impractical to apply the tape by means of a hand-held dispenser. This is particularly true where small pieces of tape are being applied and, as a result, the amount of tape dispensed has an insufficient adhesive surface to hold the dispensed portion of the tape upon the article to :which it is applied when thesevering operation is performed. Heretofore, and for a considerable period of time, it has been common practice under these circumstances to grasp the hand-held dispenser in one hand, grasp the dispensed piece of the tape in the other hand and then perform the severing operation, which thus requires both hands. The dispenser must then be released in order to free one hand for the purpose of holding the article while the severed piece of tape is being applied to the article with the other hand. This procedure virtually defeats the purpose, i.e. convenience, of a handheld dispenser and, in many instances, has resulted in the necessity of having both a hand-held dispenser and a mounted dispenser at the same location. Obviously, this arrangement increases the cost of the equipment, it necessitates a dual supply of tape, it requires additional space and it usually reduces efficiency. Moreover, it is not unusual for the hand-held dispenser to become mislaid or misappropriated during long periods between use.

Accordingly, a primary object of this invention has been the provision of a dispensing apparatus including a portable device for supporting and dispensing tape from a roll thereof and a mounting base or pedestal upon which said portable device or dispenser can be removably but firmly mounted in a stable, semipermanent posit-ion.

A further object of this invention has been the provision of a dispensing apparatus, as aforesaid, which can be used as a hand-held dispenser for applying the adhesive tape where, for example, long strips of tape are being applied or where it is convenient to move the dispenser along the article upon which the tape is being applied, as in a masking operation, but which is capable of being operated in a semipermanent manner to facilitate the dispensing of the tape under conditions where it would be inconvenient or impractical to apply or dispense the tape from a hand- ,held dispenser, the apparatus being arranged so that only one hand is required for the purpose of both dispensing and severing the tape, thereby leaving the other hand free to manually engage the article upon which the tape is being applied.

3,097,775 Patented July 16, 1963 A further object of this invention has been the provision of a tape dispensing apparatus, as aforesaid, including a portable tape dispenser and a pedestal therefor, which pedestal is sturdy in construction, inexpensive to fabricate, pleasing in appearance, extremely simple to operate and capable of being adapted for use with a wide variety of existing, portable and hand-held tape dispensers.

Other objects and purposes of this invention will become apparent to persons familiar with this type of equipment upon reading the following descriptive material and examining the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of an apparatus embodying the invention.

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of said apparatus with part of the portable dispenser broken away to show the pedestal.

FIGURE 3 is an end elevational view of the pedestal for said portable dispenser.

FIGURE 4 is a broken fragment of FIGURE 1 with parts thereof in different relative positions.

FIGURE 5 is a sectional view substantially as taken along the line V-V in FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI in FIGURE 1.

For convenience in description, the terms upper, lower and words of similar import will have reference to the dispensing apparatus of the invention in its normal position of operation and as appearing in FIGURE 1. The terms front, rear and derivatives thereof will have reference, respectively, to the left and right ends of said apparatus as appearing in FIGURE 1. The terms inner,

outer and derivatives thereof will have reference to the The objects and purposes of the invention, including those set forth above, have been met by providing a tape dispensing apparatus comprised of a portable device capable of being hand-held for the purpose of dispensing tape from a roll thereof supported upon said device, and a pedestal having a heavy base plate and an upright standard upon which said portable dispensing device is removably but firmly supported.

The portable tape dispenser, which may be any one of several existing types and shapes, is herein disclosed as an elongated body member having a cutting blade secured to one end and having a drum removably mounted upon the other end for the purpose of supporting a roll of tape.

Detailed Construction The dispensing apparatus 10 (FIGURE 1), which has been selected to illustrate a prefer-red embodiment of the invention, is comprised of a portable hand-held tape dispenser 11 and a mounting base or pedestal 12, upon which said tape dispenser 11 is removably, but firmly, mounted for the purpose of dispensing tape 13 from a roll 14 thereof, which is supported upon the dispenser 11. The tape 13 may be of any convenient conventional type, such as adhesive tape of the type used in packaging and masking operations, for example.

The tape dispenser 11 (*FIGURE 1) is comprised of a substantially cylindrical drum 17 upon which the roll 14 is rotatably supportable. Said drum 17 has two pairs of circumferentially elongated and aligned openings 18 and 19, respectively (FIGURE 2), through which the spaced, substantially parallel arms 22 and 23 of the body member 24 are slidably received. A latching mechanism 26, including a notch 27 in the arm 23 and a sliding latch element 28 mounted upon the drum 17, is provided for the purpose of releasably holding the drum 17 upon the body The body member 24 (FIGURES 4 and 5) includes a connecting plate 29 which is preferably integral with and which extends perpendicularly between the arms 22 and 23 (FIGURE 6) along corresponding edges thereof and near the front ends thereof. A front roller 32 is rotatably supported upon and between a pair of ears 33 and 34 (FIGURES 5 and 1, respectively) for rotation around an axis perpendicular to the lengthwise extent of the arms 22 and 23. The rear edge 36 of the plate 29 is also perpendicular to the lengthwise extent of the arms 22 and 23. The ears 33 and 34, hence the roller 32, are adjacent the front edge of the connecting plate 29 so that said front roller 32 is substantially tangent to a plane defined by the outer surface of the plate 29.

A cutting blade 37 having a cutting edge 38 is mounted upon the bracket 39 at the front end of the body member 24 so that said cutting edge 39 extends away from the plate 29. A guide roller 42 is supported upon and between the arms 22 and 23 near the rearward edge 36 of the plate 29 for guiding the movement of the tape 13 between the roll 14 thereof on the drum 17 and said cutting edge 38.

For further details with respect to the construction of the tape dispenser 11, reference is made to the above-mentioned, copending patent application Serial No. 48,746. However, it is believed that the details of the tape dispenser 11 set forth hereinabove are adequate for the purpose of disclosing the invention. Moreover, it will be recognized that even though one particular type of hand-held tape dispenser has been specifically described herein, the principles of the invention and the pedestal 12 may be adapted to the support of other types of handheld, tape dispensers with only minor modifications therein, as discussed hereinafter.

The pedestal 12 has an elongated, preferably rectangular base plate 46 which is preferably rectangular and fabricated from heavy metal plate. A plurality, here four, of protective pads 47 are secured to the bottom surface of the plate 46, preferably near the four corners thereof, for preventing damage from said plate to a relatively soft surface upon which the plate may be supported. The base plate 46 may have openings 48 through which screws or the like may be inserted for the purposes of permanently securing said base plate, hence the pedestal 12, upon a supporting structure in a substantially permanent installation.

The pedestal 12 (FIGURES l, 2 and 3) also includes an upright, U-shaped standard 51 having a pair of upwardly converging flanges 52, 53 and a platform 54 integral with and extending between the upper ends of said flanges t 52 and 53. The lower ends of the flanges 52 and 53 are bent outwardly and are secured, as by welding, upon the base plate 46 for the purpose of supporting said standard 51 in an upright position. The standard 51 leans toward the front end of the base plate 46 so that the lateral edges of the flanges 52 and 53 slope downwardly and rearwardly from the platform 54.

The standard 51 also includes a clamp member 56 which has a plate 57 secured, as by welding, to the platform 54 and extending forwardly and rearwardly beyond the edges thereof. The rearward edge portion of the clamp plate 57 is bent upwardly and then frontwardly to provide a clamp hook 58 defining a frontwardly opening recess 59. The front end of the plate 57 is curved gently upwardly and rearwardly to form a front clamp hook 63 having a rearwardly opening recess 64. The upper free edge 62 of the clamp hook 63 is flared slightly frontwardly for reasons apparent hereinafter. The rear clamp hook 58 is substantially rigid and the rear edge 36 of the plate 29 is slidably and snugly received into the recess 59 defined thereby. The front clamp hook 63 is resiliently flexible and the front roller 32 is receivable past the flared edge 62 into recess 64 defined by the hook 63. The clamp hooks 58 and 63 are so arranged and spaced with respect to each other that, when the rear edge 4 36 of the plate 29 is disposed in the recess 59 (FIGURE 4) and the plate 29 is pivoted around the edge 36 into its FIGURE 5 position, the front roller 32 can be urged past the edge 62 of the front clamp 63 so that it is snugly received into the recess 64, whereby the plate 29 is firmly held against the platform 54.

It will be seen that the clamp hooks 58 and 63 are specifically designed to engage certain elements of, and thereby firmly hold, the tape dispenser 11 described herein. However, by minor modifications in the clamp member 56 and the hooks 58 and 63 thereof, the clamp member 56 can be adapted to engage corresponding elements on other tape dispensers of the character described herein and for the same general purpose.

Operation For a detailed disclosure of the operation of a tape dispenser 11, reference is made to the description contained in the above-mentioned patent application. Briefly, and prior to initial use of the dispener, the latch mechanism 26 is released so that the drum 17 can be removed from the body member 24 for the purpose of mounting a tape roll 14 thereon. The drum 17 is then reengaged with the body member 24 and locked thereon by the latch mechanism 26. The tape 13 is threaded past the guide roller 42 and over the cutting edge 38, which places the tape dispenser 11 in condition for operation either independently of, or in combination with, the pedestal 12. Where it becomes desirable to use the tape dispenser 11 in a substantially fixed position, the rear edge 36 of the plate 29 (FIGURE 4) is inserted into the recess 59 defined by the clamp hook 58, after which the body member 24 is pivoted counterclockwise (FIGURE 5) around the rear edge 36 until the plate 29 engages and is bearing snugly against the platform 54. During such downward movement, the flared edge 62 of the front clamp hook 63 will be moved outwardly by the roller 52 passing thereunder and then, due to the resilience in the clamp hook 63, said flared edge 62 will move rearwardly and grip the roller 32, whereby the body member 34 is firmly, but releasably, held upon the pedestal 12. With the body member 24 in this position upon the pedestal 12, the cutting edge 38 of the blade 37 will face substantially vertically upwardly.

Tape 13 can now be dispensed from the roll 14 by grasping the outer free end thereof and moving such end frontwardly away from the dispenser 11 until the proper amount of tape has been moved past the cutting edge 38. The dispensed portion of tape 13 is then moved downwardly into the broken line position 13:: thereof (FIG- URE 5) and urged downwardly so that it is severed from the remainder of the tape by the cutting edge 38. This process can be repeated as often as necessary.

When it becomes desirable to use the dispenser 11 as a portable, hand-held device for applying tape, a firm downward pressure on the rear end of the dispenser 11 in the region of the drum 17 will cause the roller 32 to be moved upwardly out of its clamping engagement by the hook 63. The dispenser 11 can now be moved upwardly and frontwardly out of engagement with the clamp hook 58 for immediate and conventional operation as a portable, hand-held device for dispensing tape from the roll 14 thereof.

Although a particular preferred embodiment of the invention has been disclosed above in detail for illustrative purposes, it will be understood that variations or modifications of such disclosure, which lie within the scope of the appended claims, are fully contemplated.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for supporting and dispensing adhesive tape from a roll thereof, comprising:

a pedestal including a substantially flat base member and a standard of substantially inverted U-shape having a pair of upwardly extending flanges secured at their lower ends upon said base member, said standard having a platform at its upper end, said platform being sloped toward the rearward end of said base member;

a pair of spaced hook members secured to and extending upwardly from said platform near the front and rear ends of said platform, said hook members defining a pair of recesses opening toward each other;

a body member having means defining a frontwardly facing edge portion and a rearwardly facing edge portion spaced from each other and located near the lower side of said body member, said edge portions being snugly and respectively received into said recesses so that said body member is gripped between said hook members and is releasably held thereby adjacent said platform;

roll supporting means secured to said body member near the rearward end thereof for holding a roll of said tape above the rearward end of said base memher; and

cutting means on said body member near the frontward end thereof, said cutting means including an upwardly facing cutting edge.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein said body member has a plate extending across said one side thereof and defining one of said edge portions, and wherein a roller is rotatably supported upon said body member adjacent said cutting blade and defines the other edge portions.

3. An apparatus for dispensing adhesive tape from a roll thereof, comprising:

a base member;

an upright standard supported upon and secured to said base member;

a platform mounted on the upper end of said standard and extending transversely thereof;

a pair of hook members secured to and extending upwardly from said platform near the frontward and rearward edges thereof, said hook members defining a pair of recesses opening substantially toward each other;

a body member having means defining a frontwardly facing edge portion and a rearwardly facing edge portion spaced from each other and located near the lower side of said body member, said edge portions being snugly and respectively receivable into said recesses so that said edge portions are urged toward each other by said hook members for releasably holding said body member adjacent said platform;

roll supporting means secured to said body member near the rearward end thereof for holding a roll of said tape above said base member when said edge portions are in said recesses; and

cutting means on said body member near the frontward end thereof and having an upwardly facing cutting edge.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,469,247 Smith May 3, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,179,198 France Dec. 15, 1958 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING AND DISPENSING ADHESIVE TAPE FROM A ROLL THEREOF, COMPRISING: A PEDESTAL INCLUDING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT BASE MEMBER AND A STANDARD OF SUBSTANTIALLY INVERTED U-SHAPE HAVING A PAIR OF UPWARDLY EXTENDING FLANGES SECURED AT THEIR LOWER ENDS UPON SAID BASE MEMBER, SAID STANDARD HAVING A PLATFORM AT ITS UPPER END, SAID PLATFORM BEING SLOPED TOWARD THE REARWARD END OF SAID BASE MEMBER; A PAIR OF SPACED HOOK MEMBERS SECURED TO AND EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID PLATFORM NEAR THE FRONT AND REAR ENDS OF SAID PLATFORM, SAID HOOK MEMBERS DEFINING A PAIR OF RECESSES OPENING TOWARD EACH OTHER; A BODY MEMBER HAVING MEANS DEFINING A FORTWARDLY FACING EDGE PORTION AND A REARWARDLY FACING EDGE 